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NEW HISTORICISM/CULTURAL MATERIALISM
New Historicism/Cultural Materialism are also concerned with the conditions in
which works of literature are produced and consumed, like Marxism. These schools
argue that a work of art is embedded within a cultural system that is specific
to the moment of their creation, and that they need to be read in terms of their
historical moment rather than as transcendent, “timeless” works that
speak universal truths. In these schools of criticism, the most important term
is “subversion” as critics from these schools are concerned with finding
voices of subversion and examining what methods or strategies power structures
employ to contain these voices.
Major Critics: Steven Greenblatt, Peter Stallybrass
©2001 Andy Lein and Melissa Vene. Last Updated: December 2001
Comments to: criseis@mac.com
